MJF Images Fine Art landscape, nature and travel images from the American West and around the world.

As our state’s only National Park, we in Oregon really cherish this paradise in the southern corner of the state. Crater Lake is North America’s deepest and one of the world’s clearest lakes. It is famous for its deep blue color, its clarity, and its geologic background. When John Hilman became the first white explorer to see it in 1853, he was astounded, calling it a very deep, blue lake. For me, it seemed past time to re-explore Crater Lake during the summer-time, when it is most accessible. My last visit a year and a half ago was during the depths of winter, when cross-country skis and snowshoes are the only mode of transport. I spent three days there last week.

Crater Lake in southern Oregon was described by the first white person to see it as a “deep blue lake”.

Crater Lake is about 6 miles across and almost 2000 feet (600 meters) deep. What makes it such an awesome and unique lake is that it lies within the throat of a big collapsed volcano, a caldera, which suffered its climactic eruption about 7000 years ago. It is not technically a volcanic crater, which is the word geologists apply to the hole in the top of a volcano created when the volcano explodes and ejects material out over the countryside. Geologists figure that the original volcano, which is called Mount Mazama, was over 12,000 feet (3600 meters) high and quite massive.

The Phantom Ship, a small island in Crater Lake, Oregon, is so called because in certain light conditions it seems to disappear.

Calderas are generally larger than craters, and are created when the volcano erupts magma from beneath its summit, leaving a void underneath which leads to a massive and catastrophic collapse of the summit area. Caldera eruptions can be large, and they can be enormous! They are almost never modest in size. They are this planet’s biggest volcanic eruptions. And speaking of volcanoes and National Parks, Yellowstone (the world’s oldest park) is occupied by what is probably the world’s largest active caldera. It could erupt any year now (or it could take 10,000 more years!), and with devastating consequences.

In Crater Lake’s case, rain and snowmelt (mostly snow) filled the caldera over the period of a few hundred years, and now evaporation is balanced with precipitation so that the water level never fluctuates by much (it’s varied only about 16 feet (10 meters) over the last 100 years. There are no streams leading into or out of the lake. The rim of the caldera, where most visitors congregate, is at an elevation of over 7000 feet (2000 meters), and at this latitude, and next to the moist North Pacific, that means major snowfall – 40 or more feet (13 meters) every winter.

One of America’s most scenic roads follows the treeline rim around, with numerous pull-offs. So like most American National Parks, one can certainly experience “overlook fatigue”. But probably not as much as some (Blue Ridge Parkway & Bryce Canyon spring to mind).

It is at least 1000 feet (300 meters) down to the lake from the rim, and it is so steep that only in one spot is it possible to hike down to it. Here is your cure for overlook fatigue. Hike down to Cleetwood Cove, and take a scenic boat cruise out to the largest island in the lake, a volcanic cinder cone known as Wizard Island. Here you can swim in the cold lake and hike to the summit of the cone, spending hours on the island. There are also numerous hikes from spots along the rim, including The Watchman and Mount Scott.

I came here to reconnect with one of my favorite National Parks, and to try for some great shots of the stars over the lake (later post). The park is unlike the popular National Parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite and Great Smokies. There are few policemen posing as rangers here, so you can pretty much do your own thing and not be hassled. For example, I rode my motorcycle there, arriving at night after one night spent near McKenzie Pass, a stunning spot in its own right.

Once inside the park, I parked at a picnic area and walked up to a level spot on the rim to pitch my tent. I had to find a site screened from the road below, but otherwise had no worries about rangers prowling the roads at night, hoping to catch scofflaws like me camping illegally. I had a stunning view out over the lake, as the Milky Way soared above. Then at dawn, I woke to take pictures of sunrise over the vast expanse of blue water below. Coffee was conveniently taken at the picnic area where I parked the bike.

I left my tent there for the next two nights, sleeping as late as I wanted with only hawks for company. I was on the quiet north rim, well away the park’s only real concentration of people (at Rim Village on the south side of the lake). There is one large campground a few miles below Rim Village, called Mazama. This is where RVers go, and where most official campsites in the park are. There is also a small, tent-only campground at Lost Creek, in the southeastern corner of the park. But since there are only 16 sites, it always fills early in the day. It is worth trying for this camp first, and if that fails, going to Mazama (which can also fill, even during the week).

Wildflowers at Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, include pink monkeyflower.

I did one major hike and a few smaller ones. I hiked to the top of Mount Scott, the highest peak in the park. At almost 9000 feet, it was the only remaining major Cascades peak in Oregon that I had not yet climbed. Some of my climbs have been technical, some (like Scott here) just hikes. But I have been longing to return to Crater Lake in summer for no other reason than to finish my quest. Now it is time to finish the rest of the Cascades, a few in Washington and one in Canada. Wildflowers and some friendly fellow-hikers were my reward. The view was rather hazy because of fires in the region.

On my last full day at Crater Lake the smoke cleared in late afternoon and I was able to get some nice shots of a small island called Phantom Ship in late-day light (image above). Then I ate a picnic dinner, lay back and watched the stars come out one by one. I finally jumped on my bike and rounded the lake to a point where the Milky Way was perfectly placed. There I spent a couple hours shooting long exposures, stars over the lake with a starkly beautiful whitebark pine snag for foreground.

Hiking up to my campsite on the rim at about 1 a.m. I fell immediately into a deep sleep. Utter peace for this moment in my life, atop a giant volcano that had its day of great thunder long ago, and now lies also in deep slumber, beneath the deep & cold, clear-blue waters of Crater Lake!

A photo & travel blog with a difference: Instead of strict focus on photo how-to, gear and the like, I'll pass on knowledge about the places and cultures photographed. I believe the more deeply you come to know a place, the better your pictures will be.

My past careers as science teacher and geologist mean that I can't help but teach about the natural history of photogenic places around the world. But photography is not forgotten. You'll also see practical tips about where and how to photograph the destinations. And once a week, Friday Foto Talk gives photography tips and how-to on a selected topic, for novices on up to expert.

What you won't find here is endless discussion about me braving dangerous weather, terrain or wild animals to get the shot. Nor will there be cheerleading gear talk or marketing pitches. I promise to leave that to other blogs, of which there are many.

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